while there are many differences between public and private schools, the primary difference is the approach to discipline.
Let me give you two examples. When I was living in Miami, Florida, in early 1998, a ruckus occurred at Killian High, a local public high school, over an underground student newspaper. It would seem that the students were chafing at the discipline imposed by a new principal. Using their First Amendment rights, they expressed themselves in the manner used by some of their contemporary recording stars. Raw and raunchy! The students also got caught, were arrested and later released, and ultimately suspended. The story dominated the local news for several days creating a firestorm of comment and opinion.
The second concerned the Town of Pembroke Pines in Broward County, Florida. It proposed the building of two Charter Schools: one at the primary level, the other at the secondary level. Why? To achieve the educational goals which are a given at any reasonably good private school:
solid core curricula
creative, unfettered teaching
small class size
an atmosphere conducive to learning
Discipline Promotes An Atmosphere For Learning
Private schools succeed in offering discipline in every endeavor; public schools succeed in endeavoring to offer every discipline.
Discipline is a critical part of the three way partnership private school education is all about. It is a major reason why private school students are generally so successful in later life. Any endeavor which stretches a child and allows him to achieve goals he thought were unattainable shapes and molds his thinking and character for adult life.
I may sound like an ultra conservative, but I'm not really. I was trained as a pianist and organist. So I quickly got used to long hours of practice. I learned how to focus and concentrate on tasks which needed to be completed. Isn't that really the same thing we want for our children? Discipline and order in a learning environment allow children to focus on tasks, to explore a subject and to learn.
Isn't it the same in any endeavor? The student who wants to play hockey professionally or aspires to play cello in the New York Philharmonic buys into a highly structured regimen designed to enable him to reach his goal and bring his dream to fruition.
